BJP councillor threatening African national for not learning Hindi

A video of BJP councillor Renu Chaudhary allegedly threatening an African national for not learning Hindi has gone viral on social media.

In the purported video, Chaudhary, who represents Ward Number 196 of east Delhi’s Patparganj, is heard asking the man, a football coach who teaches children at an MCD park, why he has not learned Hindi yet and giving him an ultimatum that if he does not learn the language within a month, action would be taken against him.

She is also heard telling him that since he earns money in India, he should learn the language. “Hindi nahi seekhi. Kyun nahi seekhi? Agar ek mahine mein Hindi nahi seekhi, toh park cheen lo inse? (You haven’t learnt Hindi. Why? If you don’t learn Hindi in a month, then take him off the park),” She is heard saying in the video. Defending her remarks, Chaudhary said eight months ago she had asked the coach to learn basic Hindi, but he had not complied.  She alleged that the man conducted commercial activities inside the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) park without paying the required revenue and had not addressed cleanliness issues that were pointed out. The MCD staff faced difficulties communicating with him due to the language barrier, she said. “He engages in commercial activities inside the MCD park and is supposed to pay revenue. He is teaching students, but when asked about it, he said he does not know Hindi. It was eight months ago that I requested him to learn the language,” Chaudhary said in a separate video statement. She claimed that she had earlier offered to pay for his Hindi tuition.

“He did not pay heed to my request. Neither did he reduce commercial activities, nor did he take steps to maintain cleanliness.

He has been here for 14 years, he should have learnt basic Hindi by now,” said the councillor, who said she did not believe she had done something wrong.